Hertfordshire Local SEND Reform Plan 2026

Hertfordshire SEND Reform Plan

Developing a Local SEND Reform Plan is an important first step for local areas to set out how they will lay the foundation for reform, and

design an approach tailored to their local context. A shared plan which focuses on co-designing the local approach as system partners

and with children, young people and families will help foster collective responsibility for delivering the reforms.

It is critical that all system partners, including health, education and childcare settings, work together to design and deliver the Local

SEND Reform Plan, under the local authority’s leadership. It is also crucial that representative family carers e.g. the local Parent Carer

Forum, are involved in the development of the plan.

The expectation is that this plan is discussed, agreed, and signed off at your relevant SEND Governance Board. As a minimum, the plan

must be formally signed off by the Local Authority Chief Executive (Ceo), the Integrated Care Board (Icb) Chief Executive, the Local

Authority Director of Children’s Service (Dcs), the Integrated Care Board NHS Place Director, and the Local Authority Chief Financial

Officer (Cfo/Section 151 Officer). We encourage other colleagues and partners who have contributed to also review and sign-off the

plan, particularly early years, school, college and trust leaders.

Name of Local Authority: Hertfordshire County Council

Name of Integrated Care Board: Central East Icb

Local SEND Reform Plan Sro: Director of Inclusion & Skills

Signatories

Role Name Signature Email contact Date

Director of Inclusion & Skills, Hertfordshire County Council

Samantha Rostom samantha.rostom@hertfordshire.gov.uk 18th June 2026

Director of Education, Hertfordshire County Council

Tony Fitzpatrick

tony.fitzpatrick@hertfordshire.gov.uk 18th June 2026

Executive Director of Children’s Services and Education, Hertfordshire County Council

Jo Fisher Jo.fisher@hertfordshire.gov.uk 18th June 2026

Director of Safeguarding and Complex Care, Central East Icb

Pol Toner pol.toner2@nhs.net 18th June 2026

Director of Neighbourhood, Place and Partnerships for Hertfordshire, Central East Icb

Ed Knowles ed.knowles@nhs.net 18th June 2026

Director of Finance, Hertfordshire County Council

Steven Pilsworth

Steven.Pilsworth@hertfordshire.gov.uk 18th June 2026

Chief Executive, Hertfordshire County Council

Angie Ridgwell Angie.Ridgwell@hertfordshire.gov.uk 18th June 2026

Jan Thomas jan.thomas@nhs.net 18th June 2026

Chief Executive, Central East Icb

Independent Chair Christine Lenehan

DameChristinel@outlook.com 18th June 2026

(on behalf on SEND Executive)

Executive Summary

A brief summary of your local system ‘change story’ – your local context, where you are now, where you want to get to in the next 3 years,

how you know you are succeeding and how you will know you have achieved your vision for the next 3 years. Please include a brief

qualitative summary. This summary should also include your assessment of current and forecast performance against the headline metrics.

Please structure your ‘change story’ using the following aims:

▪ Build a 0-25 system where children and young people receive support to achieve and thrive through (a) more inclusive settings and

(b) stronger local partnerships

▪ Improve capacity and capability of the mainstream and specialist workforce to identify and meet need

▪ Improve confidence of children, families, and stakeholders in reform and readiness of the system

▪ Stabilise finances and improve value for money

.

Hertfordshire County Council and the Central East Integrated Care Board, on behalf of the Hertfordshire SEND Partnership, set out a shared reform plan to deliver a more inclusive, effective and sustainable system for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Hertfordshire has made significant progress in strengthening its SEND system, including the development of a new SEND Strategy, a data-led SEND Provision Plan backed by £140m investment, and a robust multi-agency governance and quality assurance framework. There is strong engagement from children, young people, families and partners, and growing evidence of effective practice across many settings. However, the partnership recognises that the system remains uneven. There is still variation in inclusive practice, inequitable access to support, rising demand for statutory services and specialist provision, and inconsistent confidence among families and professionals.

This Reform Plan sets out how the partnership will move from a developing system to a consistently inclusive and trusted 0-25 system over the next three years. Transformation will be underpinned by a clear theory of change: building workforce capability and confidence, driving consistent inclusive practice and coordinated multi-agency support, so that support is provided earlier and more needs are met effectively in local mainstream settings.

The partnership will deliver this through three core areas of reform. First, we will strengthen inclusion across all settings through a co-produced Universal Offer Agreement, embedding Ordinarily Available Provision and establishing the Inclusion Alliance to drive shared ownership and accountability. Second, we will improve access to specialist expertise through the Experts at Hand model, providing timely, needs-led, multi-disciplinary support via a locality model. Third, we will rebalance the system through the SEND Provision Plan, increasing local specialist capacity while enabling more children to remain in mainstream provision, reducing reliance on independent placements.

These reforms are supported by strong enablers, including system leadership, co-production, workforce development, and data-driven decision-making, alongside alignment with wider reforms such as Family Hubs, Best Start in Life, health integration and Local Government Reorganisation.

In 2026-27, the focus will be on establishing foundations - designing and mobilising the Experts at Hand model, launching the Universal Offer and Inclusion Alliance, and continuing delivery of new provision. By 2027-28, reforms will be embedded and scaled, with measurable improvements in access, consistency and workforce confidence. By 2028-29, the partnership expects to deliver sustained improvements in outcomes, reduced escalation, greater placement stability and improved value for money.

Success will be evidenced in a range of ways including improved workforce confidence, attendance and engagement, reduced exclusions rates and statutory escalation, increased parental confidence, improved preparation for adulthood outcomes, and greater financial sustainability within the High Needs system.

Together, partners are committed to delivering a more inclusive, trusted and sustainable SEND system where all children and young people in Hertfordshire can achieve, belong and thrive.

Section 1 – Vision and Goals

1. What the local area partnership is trying to achieve?

Please set out your goals for your local system. These should be clear, aligned to the vision set out in the Schools White Paper, small in

number and measurable. These goals should include clear reference to:

▪ Outcomes for children

▪ Confidence of parents, carers and young people in the system

▪ Management of finances to secure value for money

In Hertfordshire, our vision is that all children and young people with SEND live their best lives – feeling valued, included and supported to achieve, belong and thrive within their local communities. We are committed to building a highly inclusive, consistent and trusted 0–25 system, where needs are met early and as close to home as possible.

Over the next three years, we will focus on three ambitious goals: 1.Build workforce capability and confidence Invest in developing a skilled, confident workforce across all settings and services, supported by Experts at Hand, peer learning and targeted training. This will enable professionals to identify needs earlier and confidently implement support within their settings.

2.Strengthen inclusion Create a more consistent culture of inclusion across Hertfordshire so that every child feels like they can belong. This will ensure shared expectations, clearer accountability and reduced variation in inclusive practice and outcomes across phases.

3.Provide earlier support and intervention By shifting towards earlier intervention, whole-setting support and prevention, we will better manage demand for statutory pathways and specialist provision, ensuring finances are used efficiently.

This work will be underpinned by data-driven decision making and strong co-production with children, young people, families, settings and partners. Year 1 will focus on building trust, consistency and confidence in the system.

Together, these goals will help us to achieve:

• improved outcomes for children and young people
• increased confidence of parent carers and young people in the system
• efficient management of finances to secure value for money

and ultimately, deliver a more inclusive, trusted and sustainable SEND system for Hertfordshire.

This vision is in line with our SEND Strategy, launched in April 2026 after 12+ months of co-production and development. Please see our SEND Strategy which has been submitted as a supplementary titled Q1 Supplementary – SEND Strategy 2026 – 2029

Section 2 – Strategy

2. Where the local area partnership expects to be in the next 3 years

A description of what your local system would look like in the next 3 years in line with the national vision set out in the Schools White

Paper and set within the context of where you are starting from as a local system.

In particular, as commissioning system partners, you should reflect on and agree what your fully fledged Experts At Hand Offer model

should be and how this will be deployed via mainstream settings and providers (including those not based in your area – e.g. further

education colleges attended by your young people) to build their capacity as well as identify and meet the needs of children and young

people earlier and without the need for a statutory assessment for Education, Health and Care.

To help you fully consider the scope and scale of change required, you may find it useful to structure your response using these 4

building blocks of an inclusive system, reflecting on what is working well in your system, what you are most worried about, what needs

to change, and how the enablers will help you achieve your 3 year vision.

When summarising where your local area partnership currently is, please include an assessment of where you are in reference to the

core minimum requirements above and how you bridge the gap, making reference to and attaching additional documents that provide

underlying evidence for your summary.

Please note: to aid in assessor’s view of where all core requirements are considered within our plan, we have produced a

checklist of these, please see this in supplementary titled ‘Qs 2,5 and 6 Supplementary – Herts Core Requirements

Checklist’

deployed to deliver a more sustainable, locally focused system of support. With 1000+ settings in Hertfordshire and many support services provided by the Local Authority, Delivering Specialist Provision Localities (DSPLs) and Health, we have a very large workforce in Hertfordshire. Like many other Local Areas, we struggle with recruitment and retention of specialist professionals, but dedicated recruitment and retention strategies have supported recruitment of more Educational Psychologists and Therapists in recent years. There is a real challenge in retaining staff across early years, schools and post-16 settings, and this is a national challenge. The workforce within our education settings is highly committed to meeting the needs of children and young people and supporting them to learn, but say they struggle with capacity and sometimes confidence in meeting learning needs for children with more complex SEND. As referenced above, we are still developing in our approach to settings access of specialist support services, with many available and good outcomes achieved, but settings report that they can struggle to access these services with inequity of access across early years, schools and post-16. Investment in key support services such as therapies, Educational Psychologists and specialist outreach are enabling settings to access more support. Health services proactively review and improve their services to meet increase in demand and complexity of need (e.g. increase in special school nurse funding and Mental Health Support Teams SEND Outreach to mainstream schools). We have recently conducted a review of our Education Support Centres (ESCs), which are commissioned by the Council to provide Alternative Provision (and outreach). The recommendations of this review will be implemented to improve the model, focusing on consistency of offer, clearer admissions processes, quality assurance and reintegration of pupils. This work will be co-produced across ESCs, link schools, Herts Parent Carer Involvement (Hpci, our recognised Parent Carer Forum), DSPLs and pupils who have experience of ESCs. Alongside, work is underway to recommission the Alternative Provision provider framework and we are setting up an in-house tuition service, ensuring that the Council has sufficient, high-quality alternative provision capacity to meet need.

Hertfordshire is maturing in system leadership, governance and co-production, with strong, well-embedded governance arrangements that provide clear oversight, shared accountability and constructive challenge across the local area partnership. Following the redesign of governance after the 2023 inspection, the SEND Partnership Board and SEND Executive now operate as effective decision-making forums, with education, health and social care working jointly and SEND remaining a clear strategic priority for political and corporate leadership. A key strength is the partnership’s SEND Quality Assurance (Qa) Framework, overseen by the SEND Qa Board (which is multi-agency, including parent carer representatives), which brings together quantitative performance data, qualitative audit findings, lived experience feedback and service-level intelligence into a coherent system-wide view. This framework is used routinely to identify variation, test impact, and agree targeted improvement actions across education, health and care, supporting a culture of continuous improvement rather than compliance. Schools, settings and parent carers are embedded as partners within governance. Education representation from early years, mainstream schools, special schools, alternative provision and post-16 providers is present across governance structures, with strong links into local networks such as Delivering Specialist Provision Localities (Dspl) and SENCO forums. Herts Parent Carer Involvement (Hpci) play a central role in strategic decision-making, with direct influence over priorities, assurance activity and reform design. A recent review of parent carer engagement methods, supported by DfE grant funding, has provided us with recommendations to broaden and

Hertfordshire will demonstrate consistently maturing system leadership, partnership and co-production, characterised by resilient governance, shared accountability and visible impact for children, young people and families. The partnership will have embedded a deeper, broader and more representative model of co-production, with expanded and sustained participation through Voices of Hertfordshire, a strengthened Parent Carer Engagement Group, and more systematic use of Voluntary and Community Sector (Vcs) networks to engage families who are currently underrepresented. Experts at Hand support will also help settings to strengthen the relationship with their local family community and, alongside national introduction of the pupil engagement framework, lead to more settings undertaking meaningful engagement and co- production with their pupil and family communities. A locally defined minimum co-production benchmark will be embedded and consistently applied across the system, with Children’s and families’ lived experience routinely visible within quality assurance, commissioning decisions and service redesign, supported by clear “You Said, We Did” feedback loops. System leadership and governance will continue to mature through stable, confident partnership arrangements that remain effective despite system change, including Icb reform, Families First Social Care reforms and Local Government Reform. Recognising that in three years time the outcome of

Building block3 System leadership, local partnership collaboration and co-production Enablers E.g. Capital – investment strategy across Ey, mainstream, Fe Workforce Data/digital systems

deepen parent carer engagement through Hpci and direct community links. Children and young people’s voices are systemically embedded through Voices of Hertfordshire, our locally developed model for engaging with hundreds of children and young people across Hertfordshire through Experts by Experience, SEND Youth Councils, a multi-schools council and Supported Internships, ensuring lived experience informs leadership decisions. This model was recognised as a strength by the DfE and NHS England during stocktake monitoring: “We were also encouraged by the work to ensure children and young people are involved in the evaluation and development of services with

• the creation of Voices of Hertfordshire ”

The partnership has also matured in recent years with regard to use of data and evidence-based decision making. This is centered on a partnership insight & intelligence framework and the SEND Partnership Data Dashboard. Recognised in the monitoring inspection as a strength, the dashboard is used effectively at both strategic and operational levels to understand need, track performance, inform commissioning and support transparent decision-making. Together, strong governance, robust quality assurance and data-led leadership provide Hertfordshire with the foundations to sustain and deepen system improvement. We want to further strengthen this by having a sharper focus on outcomes-facing reporting, linked to the Hertfordshire Outcome Bees. Joint commissioning arrangements between the Council and Integrated Care Board (Icb), particularly in therapies and neurodiversity, are a recognised strength and have led to tangible improvements in timeliness, workforce stability and access to services. However, sustaining this maturity requires ongoing attention, particularly in the context of Icb reform, workforce pressures and multiple concurrent system reforms. Variation remains in how partnership arrangements are translated into day-to-day operational practice, particularly at locality and setting level. While networks such as DSPLs, SENCO forums and school groups are well established, our maturity matrix highlights that collaboration is stronger in some areas than others, some settings do not engage, and not all partners in the system experience joint working as timely, coherent or preventative. Whilst shared aspirations are clear, further work is needed to strengthen collective ownership of inclusion, reduce escalation through earlier joint action, and embed shared accountability for outcomes across all partners. This is why our partnerships across education, health and social care remain rated as ‘developing’, reflecting a realistic assessment that partnership working is on a positive trajectory but still requires sustained effort to move from effective collaboration in parts of the system to consistently embedded, system-wide practice. Dispute resolution models have been strengthened to support earlier and more effective resolution for children, young people and their families, however we know that mediation and dispute pathways do not always enable early resolution. Mediation is a key priority and oversight has been integrated within the Tribunals Service to support closer alignment and earlier resolution, although capacity pressures are currently affecting timeliness. While these developments are strengthening early resolution, further progress is required to embed and realise full impact. A previously centralised complaints resource has been embedded across statutory SEND teams, enabling learning to be captured and acted on more quickly, while promoting greater collective accountability. Joint Local Authority and health complaints are managed via a joint complaints protocol and all health providers have their own established patient experience teams and learning from complaints processes. Complaint levels and themes have remained broadly consistent. Insights from disputes, complaints and feedback from children, young people and families are a key function of the Quality Assurance and Learning Framework, however further work is needed to ensure this learning is consistently embedded in practice and drives improvement. A continued focus remains on reducing escalation to formal dispute resolution through an Accurate, Compassionate, Timely (Act) communication

Local Government Reform will be embedded, new SEND governance arrangements in each area will be required. Our current governance will work to ensure that the principles of the SEND Partnership Board and SEND Executive continue to operate through new transitional governance arrangements with a clear shared understanding of purpose and strong relational leadership. A more holistic, outcomes-based framework aligned to the SEND Strategy and Hertfordshire’s Outcome Bees will be fully embedded, enabling governance to move beyond process assurance to purposeful challenge and improvement based on outcomes that matter to children and families. The partnership’s use of data and insight will be further strengthened and fully aligned to SEND Strategy outcomes. Deeper analytics will support identification of inequalities, emerging pressures and geographic variation, allowing earlier system responses and more informed local commissioning. Data will be used routinely alongside qualitative insight to drive decision-making, evaluate effectiveness and support continuous improvement. Effective partnership working across education, health and social care will be embedded more consistently at locality and setting level. The Inclusion Alliance (strategic level delivery vehicle) and Experts at Hand locality model (delivering at an operational level) will support shared leadership for inclusion across schools and settings, while clearer partnership expectations, improved communication and strong locality working will reduce variation in experience. Responsibility for improving outcomes will be genuinely shared across partners, supported by trust, transparency and sustained collaborative behaviours. Over the next three years, dispute resolution will increasingly focus on resolving concerns at the earliest possible stage, reducing escalation to formal routes wherever possible. Mediation will be embedded within statutory SEND teams rather than delivered through a centralised model, promoting greater delivery capacity, accountability and a faster learning loop, with the aim of resolving a higher proportion of disputes at this stage and more active use of mediation among families. Increased capacity within the Tribunals Service will strengthen early resolution work in partnership with schools and settings. Occupational Therapy (Ot) and Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) Resolution and Reconciliation Leads, who work very closely with Local Authority leads will, over time, redirect their resources to support mediation and early resolution. Learning and improvement from disputes, complaints and feedback from children, young people and families will be fully embedded through the Quality Assurance and Learning Framework, supported by the introduction of a dedicated SEND Qa Resolutions Manager, and an expanded Qa function focused specifically on dispute resolution. This will ensure insights are systematically captured, key themes are tracked through improved use of data and intelligence, and clear action plans are developed and embedded in practice. The local area will strengthen Sendiass’s role in delivering SEND Reform through expanded early engagement and preventative support to improve outcomes and reduce escalation. Delivery will be sustained through stable joint

Decreasing rate of notification of exclusion for children and young people with EHCPs

Decreasing reduced timetable rate for children and young people with EHCPs

Decreasing rate of young people aged 16-18 with SEND Not in Education, Employment or Training (Neet) Rate

Decreasing gap in school attendance rates for children with SEND compared to all pupils

Decreasing proportion of children Electively Home Educated or Children Missing Education due to unmet need

Increase proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of reception

Feedback from children, young people and parent carers (through our local mechanisms and new pupil engagement framework) will tell us that inclusion is improving and there is a sense of belonging where they learn

Ofsted Setting Inspection findings show Hertfordshire settings benchmark well on inclusion scoring and improve from initial baseline

capacity for mainstream inclusion (as per SEND Provision Plan) Decreasing rate of notification of exclusion for children and young people with EHCPs

25/26 academic year baseline will be determined July 2026 Decreasing reduced timetable rate for children and young people with EHCPs

Drawing on metrics from the

25/26 academic year baseline will be determined July 2026 Decreasing rate of young people aged 16- 18 with SEND Not in Education, Employment or Training (Neet) Rate

accompanying data template E.g.

9.1% (12-month rolling to Mar 2026 for Yp with EHCPs) 4.9% (12-month rolling to Mar 2026 for Yp SEN Support) Decreasing gap in attendance rates for children with SEND compared to all pupils

Improve attendance of pupils in all maintained schools (mainstream and Herts Schools – Autumn 25/26 All pupils: Total absence 6.0% Persistence absence 16.1% Severe absence 1.9% Pupils with SEN Support: Total absence 8.7% Persistence absence 24.3% Severe absence 3.4% Pupils with EHCPs: Total absence 14.2% Persistence absence 35.1% Severe absence 9.3% Decreasing proportion of children Electively Home Educated or Children Missing Education due to unmet need special) with SEN Reduce reliance on independent special school places Mainstream settings with increased access to Education Psychologists/SaLT/Ot Reduced Neet rates for SEND Yp at Earlier Intervention to Reduce Escalation age 16

Decrease of school aged children and young people in independent placements as a proportion of specialist placements – by 2029 we expect the proportion to reduce to 13% (indicating more children having specialist placement needs met through the availability of sufficient provision locally)

Use of specialist and independent placements for school aged children to remain proportionate, aligned to comparator benchmarks

Demonstrate an increasing level of spend in earlier intervention and supporting children to remain supported within mainstream settings, where it is appropriate

Through earlier intervention, support within mainstream settings including significant investment in specialist units and bases, and increases in maintained special school places, maintain levels of expenditure in the independent sector below statistical neighbour averages

% children receiving focused intervention funding who do not progress to EHC Needs Assessment (Ehcna)/EHCP within 6, 12 months compared to baseline (higher is better indicator of successful early intervention)

Lower appeal rate compared to 2026 baseline evidencing greater satisfaction with the system and ability of system to meet needs earlier

Total number of children who are Ehe = 2350 and Cme = 765 (Mar 2026)

Increase proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of reception

69.8% (2025) Feedback from children, young people and parent carers (through our local mechanisms and new pupil engagement framework) will tell us that inclusion is improving and there is a sense of belonging where they learn Baseline to be established in year 1 implementation Ofsted Setting Inspection findings show Hertfordshire settings benchmark well on inclusion scoring and improve from initial baseline Baseline to be established after 1 year of new Ofsted framework (Nov 2026) Earlier Intervention to Reduce Escalation Decrease of school aged children and young people in independent placements as a proportion of specialist placements % (indicating more children having specialist placement needs met through the availability of sufficient provision locally) 15% (2025) % children receiving focused intervention funding who do not progress to Ehcna/EHCP within 6, 12 months compared to baseline (higher is better indicator of successful early intervention) Baseline to be established in year 1 implementation Success in longer-term (post delivery of this reform plan) While this reform plan sets out outcomes and measures over a three-year period (to 2028/29), the partnership recognises that full system transformation will be realised over a longer timeframe.

Decreasing appeal rate compared to 2026 predicted baseline evidencing greater satisfaction with the system and ability of system to meet needs earlier

5.3% (2026 projection) Over the next 5–10 years, the intended impact of these reforms is to deliver a sustained shift towards earlier intervention and stronger mainstream inclusion, so that children and young people are increasingly able to learn and thrive within their local communities, with their needs met effectively at the earliest point. Over time, this will contribute to a system where reliance on escalation to higher levels of support reduces, as more needs are addressed through confident, inclusive practice in mainstream settings. The pace and extent of this shift will be influenced by national policy and legislative changes, alongside the foundations built through delivery of the SEND Reform Plan and will be monitored through the SEND Partnership’s wider performance framework as an indicator of the success and sustainability of system transformation.

3. What is the local area partnership’s strategy for delivering on the above?

A brief summary of your local system’s theory of change or reform strategy. Reflect on the output of your Local Partnership Maturity

Assessment Tool, particularly your Local System ‘change story.’

Hertfordshire’s SEND system is developing, with strong strategic foundations (SEND Strategy, Provision Plan, data capability and governance) but variation in inclusive practice, inequitable access to support, and continued escalation into specialist pathways.

We believe that if the partnership shifts the system towards earlier intervention, consistent universal provision and coordinated multi-agency support, then more children and young people will have their needs met effectively in local mainstream settings, reducing escalation, improving outcomes and stabilising the system financially.

To achieve this, the partnership will deliver transformation across three mutually reinforcing priorities:

1. Strengthening universal inclusion and accountability through a co-produced Universal Offer Agreement, embedding Ordinarily Available Provision and mobilising the Inclusion Alliance to create shared expectations and consistent inclusive practice.

2. Providing timely, needs-led access to specialist expertise through the Experts at Hand model, shifting from fragmented, reactive services to proactive, multi-disciplinary and whole-setting support.

3. Rebalancing provision and capacity through the SEND Provision Plan, expanding local specialist and mainstream-attached provision and strengthening outreach to support inclusion.

These are enabled by strong partnership governance, co-production, workforce development and data-driven improvement.

We expect to see:

• Increased confidence in mainstream settings
• More children having needs met earlier without escalation
• Improved attendance, reduced exclusions and better preparation for adulthood
• Increased trust and confidence among families

We expect to first see improving workforce capability and confidence in short-term, which enables a strengthening of inclusion in the medium term, leading to truly inclusive system and reduced escalation in the long-term.

A visual aid of our Theory of Change is included directly below to support response to this question.

With the right support, mainstream settings can meet SEND needs more consistently and effectively

• Sustained engagement and ownership from schools, early years and post-16 settings
• Workforce capacity

Shifting the system to early intervention will mean more needs are met without escalation

• Successful delivery of the Hertfordshire SEND Provision Plan
• Co-production will strengthen trust and drive system behaviour change

4. Please upload a completed copy of the Local Partnership Maturity Assessment Tool.

The Hertfordshire Maturity Matrix is included as a supplementary appendix titled ‘Q4 Supplementary – Maturity

Assessment Herts SEND Partnership’

5. What is the local area partnership roadmap for the next 3 years?

Reflecting on the broad timescales and expectation for deliverables set out in the Schools White Paper, key documents and core

minimum requirements set out in this document, please provide a high-level roadmap for the next 3 years. Please highlight key

milestones and a trajectory to the target metrics identified above, including leading indicators.

In the 2026-27 column, in particular, please reference how you plan to meet the core minimum requirements in your narrative, including

details and evidence in supporting documents.

You can insert or upload supporting documents including graphics/visuals that illustrate your data trajectory.

Please note: to aid in assessor’s view of where all core requirements are considered within our plan, we have produced a

checklist of these, please see this in supplementary titled ‘Qs 2,5 and 6 Supplementary – Herts Core Requirements

Checklist’

greatest immediate impact, and strengthening specialist outreach. Triage, panels and risk-based prioritisation will be used to ensure children and young people with the highest levels of complexity are prioritised appropriately for specialist placements. Interim arrangements and targeted outreach will be used strategically to stabilise placements while additional provision comes on stream, improving confidence and predictability in placement decision-making. Alongside capital delivery, the partnership will baseline the workforce capacity and capability required to deliver the Provision Plan sustainably, using system data and engagement with schools and providers to inform phased workforce planning. Please note: our full SEND Provision Plan is articulated in a supplementary document titled Qs 2,5,6, and 8 Supplementary – SEND Provision Plan 2026 – 2029’ Alongside this, targeted work will strengthen early years and post-16 inclusion. In early years, Best Start in Life services will be co-produced and delivered through Best Start Family Hubs and Family Centres, ensuring stronger integration across education, health and social care services to enabled improved identification and support of need in early years. Best Start Inclusion Practitioners will be recruited. Support for settings from the Early Years Service will shift further toward cohort and whole-setting approaches, supported by specialist outreach, peer-to-peer networks, and robust transition arrangements into Reception. A stronger SEND focus within the Childcare Sufficiency Report will improve understanding of supply and demand for inclusive and specialist early years provision. In post-16, the Universal Offer Agreement will drive clearer and more consistent expectations across both Hertfordshire and out-of-area Further Education providers. Services for Young People (SfYP) will continue to act as a key enabler through participation tracking, advice and re-engagement, supporting smoother transitions from Year 11, early identification of risk of disengagement. Further Education providers will begin to engage with the Experts at Hand model, and data on participation, education and employment rates, retention and progression used to inform Further Education sufficiency and capital planning. Throughout 2026/27, strengthened co-production, engagement and mediation arrangements will ensure that children, young people and families’ lived experience directly informs improvement work and day-to-day service practice, improving confidence, transparency and trust as reforms, and the ambitions of Hertfordshire SEND strategy, are delivered. In particular, establishment of a new Parent Insight & Learning Group will strengthen the respective roles of the partnership and Hpci with regard to widening and deepening parent carer

In early years, links between the SEND offer and Best Start Family Hubs will be strengthened to deliver a more coherent, all-year-round offer. Support for early years settings will increasingly focus on outreach, coaching and modelling delivered by Early Years SEND specialists, with equitable access to Experts at Hand across setting types. The Childcare Sufficiency Report will inform more detailed early years provision planning, including development of specialist places through the School-Based Nursery Grant.

In post-16, inclusive Further Education provision will be more confident and stable, supported by embedded joint working between Further Education providers, Services for Young People and Experts at Hand, with stronger Preparing for Adulthood pathways reflected in improved retention, progression and destinations. By this point, the partnership will also be operating within new council arrangements following Local Government Reorganisation. SEND governance, commissioning and locality delivery models will have transitioned successfully, with the core principles of the SEND Strategy, Experts at Hand, Inclusion Alliance and co-production maintained consistently across new structures. Stable governance, shared accountability and strong system intelligence will ensure that reform gains are sustained through organisational change. Taken together, 2028/29 is the year in which the partnership expects the cumulative impact of these reforms to begin translating into measurable movement against Hertfordshire’s strategic success measures. While not all child-level outcomes will shift immediately, this year should demonstrate clear system-level impact through growing confidence within settings to meet SEND needs, the embedding of a more consistent and inclusive ethos across provision, earlier intervention, greater placement stability and clearer pathways, evidence through measures that highlight strengthened inclusion and reducing escalation. By the end of 2028/29, Hertfordshire will have a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable SEND system, delivering the core ambitions of its SEND Strategy and well positioned to respond to future reform.

In post-16, the Universal Offer Agreement will be embedded across both Hertfordshire and

out-of-area Further Education providers. Services for Young People (SfYP) participation and tracking data will be embedded into routine Further Education and SEND planning, supporting earlier identification of learners at risk of disengagement. Joint working between Further Education providers, SfYP and SEND specialist advice services through the Experts at Hand model will strengthen placement stability and Preparing for Adulthood pathways, with improving early retention and progression into education, employment, volunteering opportunities and training for young people with SEND. Alongside this, delivery of the SEND Provision Plan will accelerate. Additional specialist places and inclusion bases across mainstream and post-16 settings will come on stream, improving local availability and reducing reliance on independent and out-of-county provision. Specialist outreach and advisory input will be fully embedded within a coordinated Experts at Hand approach, providing multi-disciplinary support to schools and colleges. Improved data and digital tracking will support better forecasting and earlier identification of risk, contributing to improved placement timeliness, stronger mainstream stability and reduced growth in demand. Need-based prioritisation will be applied consistently across triage and panels, supported by system-level changes including the progressive redesignation of special schools to focus on more complex need profiles, aligned to a needs-led funding approach.

Developing target number of specialist (inclusion bases) to increase capacity for mainstream inclusion (as per SEND Provision Plan)

Strengthening Inclusion

Developing target number of specialist (inclusion bases) to increase capacity for mainstream inclusion (as per SEND Provision Plan)

Increase system confidence to deliver inclusive practice (measured through setting self-reporting and training feedback)

Children Missing Education due to unmet need

The proportion of children achieving a good level of development at the end of reception will increase

Feedback from children, young people and parent carers (through our local mechanisms and new pupil engagement framework) will tell us that inclusion is improving and there is a sense of belonging where they learn

Ofsted Setting Inspection findings show Hertfordshire settings benchmark well on inclusion scoring and improve from initial baseline Earlier Intervention to Reduce Escalation

Decrease of school aged children and young people in independent placements as a proportion of specialist placements % (indicating more children having specialist placement needs met through the availability of sufficient provision locally)

Use of specialist and independent placements for school aged children to remain proportionate aligned to comparator benchmarks

Demonstrate an increasing level of spend in earlier intervention and supporting children to remain supported within mainstream settings, where it is appropriate

Through earlier intervention, support within mainstream settings including significant investment in specialist units and bases, and increases in maintained special school places, maintain levels of expenditure in the independent sector below statistical neighbour averages

% children receiving focused intervention funding who do not progress to Ehcna/EHCP within 6, 12 months (higher is better indicator of successful early intervention)

Lower appeal rate compared to 2026 baseline evidencing greater satisfaction with the system and ability of system to meet needs earlier

6. What will the local area partnership deliver in the first year?

Please outline the key workstreams, milestones and trajectory your local area partnership will deliver and achieve in 2026-27 as well as

how you plan to spend the investment allocation that will help fund this year’s delivery. Please share key milestones and anticipated

dates, success measures, cost breakdown and category. These should incorporate the core minimum requirements, be mapped to the

building blocks above and should reflect a more detailed trajectory to the narrative, milestones and target metrics outlined in the 2026-

27 column above.

Please note: to aid in assessor’s view of where all core requirements are considered within our plan, we have produced a

checklist of these, please see this in supplementary titled ‘Qs 2,5 and 6 Supplementary – Herts Core Requirements

Checklist’

The success measures (Year 1)

% Fif interventions achieving intended children and young people-level outcomes

% applications requiring repeat or extended funding (lower is better indicator of successful early intervention)

% funded applications where children or young person does not progress to EHC Needs Assessment with 6 and 12 months (higher is better indicator of successful early intervention)

% of applicants with SEN Support

narrative, and embed routine tracking of outcomes

% approved vs rejected (continue to shift towards approved, highlighting appropriate use of funds) geographical and setting variation in Fif application approval rates (to spot patterns in behaviour) % of applicants with SEN Support Average time from application to decision Average duration of interventions % Fif interventions achieving intended outcome % applications requiring repeat or extended funding (lower is better indicator of successful early intervention)

establishing baseline

Average time from application to decision

Young people with SEND successfully transition into positive education, employment and training (Eet) destinations at the end of statutory school

Young people maintain their Eet destination and progress where appropriate

Neet and not known rates reduce

providers. This includes exploring feedback about parity of health service support for post-16. Education, employment, training and volunteering will continue to be embedded within young people’s lives through school careers advice, information and guidance and work experience, Personal development, bespoke youth work projects and from year 7 onwards, up to and including young people up to the age of 25 with an EHCP. Development of the Youth Guarantee will include support to ensure young people have access to education, employment, training and volunteering to enable them to become economically viable. The Activity Survey will track each young person under the September Guarantee agenda, to ensure an offer is in place. Tracking will continue until end of January 2027, and all young people who are Neet will be on an Adviser caseload.

Needs Funding planning.

people with SEND. (Activity Survey)

Work to reduce the number of young people whose Eet status is not known has elicited a rise in Neet rate but means that there is now fully comprehensive Neet landscape information and support for this cohort will continue through Q2-4. Building block Access to specialist support and local placements - Workstream 6 The What: Experts at Hand model is designed and an early form of the model is operationalised Please note: our full Experts at Hand Model is articulated in a supplementary document titled Qs 2,5 and 6 Supplementary – Herts Experts at Hand Model’ The Outcome(s) (for year 1 only, see 3-year roadmap for med/long-term outcomes and success measures)

Director Inclusion & Skills Design Phase

As year 1 for Experts at Hand is a design and transition year, our impact data focuses on our short- term outcomes related to capability, coverage and experience.

Design to mobilisation transition phase

• Rapid options

appraisal for locality footprint

• Design front

door/triage function

• Take formal decision

on locality footprint

• Take formal decision

on front door/triage design and map to finalised locality model

• Recruitment

continues – final workforce model mapped to localities

• Finalise countywide

standards, entitlements and success metrics

• Begin to adjust

commissioning model to set-up locality model

• Local Authority-ICB

Memorandum of Understanding drafted

• Prepare existing

services for re- alignment to hub model

By the end of Q3, the system will be demonstrably mobilising toward delivery. Data will show that locality arrangements and access routes are confirmed, workforce deployment is underway, and settings understand how Experts at Hand will operate. Limited early interaction may begin where appropriate, but data will focus on mobilisation indicators such as coverage, clarity and confidence rather than delivery volume or impact.

Begin consistent delivery and test core design decisions

By the end of Q4, early mobilisation of the Experts at Hand model will be visible across all localities. Evidence will show that locality arrangements are stood up in an early form, that access routes are operational, and that settings can engage in professional conversations. Early data will focus on uptake, access, and experience, rather than volume or outcomes, establishing baselines for year 2. This will include time from initial contact to first professional

• Establish

programme governance

• Dedicated

engagement & co- production plan developed to ensure there are opportunities for parent carers, young people, schools, early years, post-16 and alterative provision providers and partners co-design the model throughout mobilisation

• Detailed mapping of

current services, including health mapping

• finalise workforce

design with approval by programme governance

• recruitment event
• initiate recruitment

activity

• Finalise all design

principles & design assumptions

Stand-up early form of locality model (organise their clusters, proactive planning meetings, early type of front door/ triage)

Early form of single front door in each hub to be live (co- location, relationship building)

Hubs to start early data reporting against matrix

By the end of Q2, the Experts at Hand programme will have established the core foundations for delivery. We will evidence that programme governance is in place, design assumptions have been agreed, and baseline information is available across localities to

Increased workforce capacity to deliver more support

Improved clarity on what support is available and what it aims to achieve

Reduced time spent navigating services and ‘bouncing around’ thus improving experiences

Earlier access to support with improved communication from services All measured by regularly sourcing feedback from settings

We can evidence prioritisation of children with high complexity of need in placement decisions

Opening of additional specialist resource provisions and SEND Units (specialist bases) within mainstream settings, in line with SEND Provision Plan

mainstream schools

SEND units operating to a standard model, with SLAs met and performance routinely monitored.

short-term moves to specialist provision.

Specialist outreach embedded in panel and triage, reducing escalation through earlier decision-makin g

complexity and geographical gaps where local provision is currently limited.

working are consistent and evidence-base d.

Continued delivery of Specialist Resource Provisions and SEND units (specialist bases)

Expanded Special School Outreach, including Education Support Centre (PRU) input, embedded into panel and triage processes

Improved stability for pupils supported to remain in mainstream with specialist input

4. Update Special School designations

Prioritisation of children with highest complexity evident in placement decisions.

Standard operating model and Service Level Agreements (SLAs) introduced for SEND units

Specialist waiting list growth stabilised.

2.Expand specialist capacity in mainstream schools

Further individual school consultations regarding special school redesignations completed. Finalise a new special school Needs Led funding model effective April 27

3. Create more Special School Places

Continued delivery of SRPs and SEND units (specialist bases)

Agreed redesignation principles in place, underpinned by data on complexity and future placement demand.

Continued delivery of additional special school places, focusing on areas of highest need, complexity and geographical gaps where local provision is currently limited.

• Create more

Special School Places, focusing on areas of highest need, complexity and geographical gaps where local provision is currently limited.

Multi-agency planning embedded with all special schools, supporting timely, coordinated support. Panel data confirms required outreach and assess, plan, do review (Adpr) evidence is in place prior to specialist placement requests.

5. Child centred placements

4. Update Special School designations

5. Child centred placements

Initial redesignation principles agreed for special schools to support more complex profiles

Review of placement decisions new ways of working

Risk stratification applied to all children on referral for specialist provision with priority cohorts identified.

Regular multi-agency planning meetings with each special school, to provide timely, coordinated support for schools.

5. Child centred placements

The Outcome: Disputes across statutory SEND services are resolved at the earliest opportunity through accurate, clear and timely communication and resolution. Mediation is accessible for families to enable earlier resolution. Learning from dispute resolution is routine, effective, and results in tangible improvements in practice and family experience. The Success Measures (Year 1)

the current centralised model into one which promotes timeliness and accountability. Staff are trained in an early resolution approach to resolving disputes.

Increased access to mediation among families. Increase in positive experiences felt by children young people and families.

to a new role - SEND Qa Resolutions Manager. Increased capacity within the Tribunals Service to strengthen early resolution work in partnership with schools and settings.

Increased alignment between local decision- making and tribunal outcomes. Increase in positive experiences felt by children young people and families.

shift to mediation in the longer term. Learning from disputes, mediation, and feedback from children, young people and families is shared quarterly at a partnership level, creating a learning loop and directly feeding into service improvement, led by the new SEND Qa Resolutions Manager.

Reduction in the frequency of recurring complaint themes. Increase in positive experiences felt by children young people and families.

A higher proportion of disputes are resolved at an earlier stage.

Increased access to mediation among families.

Increase in positive experiences felt by children young people and families.

Increased alignment between local decision- making and tribunal outcomes

Reduction in the frequency of recurring complaint themes.

7. How will the local area partnership deliver the first-year plan?

Please set out how you will ensure the required capacity and capability is in place from organisational corporate functions to support

implementation of the plan. This could include reference to how you plan to build or bring in project delivery capability to manage

delivery against the plan, support prioritisation, and effective use of resources; and how you plan to build the capacity and capability

in data and analytics to support effective tracking against the measures in the plan and reporting that informs decision making.

Hertfordshire already has strong organisational capability to deliver. We have an established Programme Management Office (Pmo) hosted in the Local Authority but providing capacity across the partnership, with a strong track record of overseeing complex SEND system change. This includes successful delivery of the Priority Action and Improvement Plan, contributing to the lifting of the SEND improvement notice, and supporting the co-production and implementation of the SEND Strategy and SEND Provision Plan.

A dedicated Insight & Intelligence function works closely with the Pmo to provide analytical support to programme delivery. This team has led the development and delivery of Hertfordshire’s SEND Data Dashboard, commended during the recent monitoring inspection. The SEND Commissioning Team also supports through procurement and monitoring of contracts that underpin delivery, including joint commissioning arrangements with the Icb. In addition, the Designated Clinical Officer and Designated Social Care Officer play a central role in driving system improvement, working closely with the Pmo and wider partnership.

Together, these teams provide established capability in programme delivery, governance, risk and dependency management, benefits tracking, and data-driven oversight.

To ensure sufficient capacity alongside this capability, SEND reform funding will be used to strengthen resource across these functions. This includes dedicated Pmo roles to support implementation of the Experts at Hand model and oversight of the wider programme, alongside enhanced analytical capacity to manage increasing demands of performance monitoring and reporting to DfE. Additional resource will be sought in both finance and commissioning to ensure that key enabler functions have the capacity to support plan implementation and other key enablers that may be required, such as Technology and Legal resource, will be considered. This approach ensures reform is delivered with sufficient focus while maintaining progress on wider improvement and inspection readiness.

8. Other funding Local Authorities.

Block Transfers: If you have made a block transfer (Schools Block to High Needs Block) for 26-27, please set out how your plans for

this funding align with the activities outlined above.

250 words Not applicable – no block transfer made

Capital: We have announced at least £3 billion in high needs capital between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to support children and young

people (Cyp) with SEND, or those requiring alternative provision (AP). This funding is intended to support place delivery across the

full 0-25 age range, including early years and post-16. We expect funding to support the following outcomes:

a. Inclusion at the core of high needs sufficiency strategy, resulting in more children and young people with SEND accessing

suitable places in mainstream settings, across all phases of education

b. Every child or young person who needs a place in an inclusion base can access one

c. Fewer children and young people with SEND needing to travel a long way to access a suitable placement

d. Improved suitability of the mainstream estate to support children and young people with SEND, with adaptations to

improve inclusivity and accessibility of the physical environment

We also welcome innovative uses of high needs capital to drive inclusion, for example, investment in assistive technology for use in

mainstream settings.

Please outline your strategy for how this funding will meet the outcomes above, with reference to the core minimum requirements

and other workstreams in this reform plan where appropriate. We would like to see detail around your plans to increase capacity for

inclusion bases (formerly known as SEN units, resourced provision and pupil support units – Su/Rp/PSUs), such as schools,

colleges or early years providers identified, engagement with relevant settings and trusts, and target cohort of needs.

If your plans include increases to places in special schools or specialist post-16 institutions, please include a clear rationale,

showing the need that is being met, and why it cannot be met through other types of provision, such as inclusion bases.

If you are receiving additional capital funding to replace one or more planned special or AP free schools, please set out how this

funding will meet need in your area, and plans for engaging relevant trusts in your sufficiency planning.

Please note: our full SEND Provision Plan is articulated in a supplementary document titled Qs 2,5,6 and 8 Supplementary – SEND Provision Plan 2026 – 2029’ Hertfordshire is committed to delivering an inclusive system where more children and young people with SEND can access high-quality provision within their local communities. This strategy is underpinned by a 360% increase in specialist places in mainstream schools across the plan period, targeted investment to improve accessibility and inclusivity of the mainstream estate and ensuring sufficient local special school capacity for those with the most complex needs, reducing reliance on distant placements

Since 2020, Hertfordshire has undertaken its largest-ever expansion of specialist provision, investing £137m on additional places including specially resourced provision (Srp) in mainstream schools. Through the SEND Provision Plan, Hertfordshire has committed a further £140m capital investment, of which less than half is assumed to come from grant funding, to support the delivery of over 1,150 further specialist places. This investment supports our aim: that strengthening mainstream inclusion and early intervention reduces demand for specialist placements over time, while ensuring specialist provision is available locally for those who need it most.

Capital investment plans align with the key pillars of the SEND Provision Plan:

1. Strengthening capacity in mainstream schools. A targeted capital programme is being developed to enhance mainstream schools’ ability to support a broader range of needs through a £10m investment to:

• Enhance existing and increase the number of inclusion support bases, creating over 1000 additional places across the county
• Enable small scale environmental adaptions to improve accessibility and flexibility
• Increase the use of assisted technology to support access to learning
• Align with the SEND Accessibility Strategy to improve provision for pupils with physical and sensory needs

This will enable more children and young people with SEND to remain in mainstream settings, directly supporting improved inclusion and reducing the need for specialist placements.

2. Increasing specialist provision in mainstream schools. The council will create at least 650 new places in Srp and SEND Units by 2029/30, representing a 360% increase and developing a strong continuum of provision to meet children’s needs. These specialist inclusion bases will:

• Provide targeted support for children and young people with complex needs within mainstream environments
• Be strategically located based on local demand, ensuring the right provision in the right location
• Reduce travel times and ensure equitable access across the county

Delivery is supported through strong engagement with schools and trusts, including regular webinars, feasibility work and expressions of interest. Up to 100 additional specialist post-16 places will also be created within the college sector.

3. Creating more special school places. To meet the needs of children whose needs cannot be met in mainstream or inclusion bases, up to 500 additional special school places will be created by 2029. Expansion of special schools is a necessary part of the provision plan because:

There are existing shortfalls in provision for children whose needs cannot reasonably be met in a mainstream school with a specialist base. Some of these places are to meet existing commitments and gaps/requirements identified as part of the previous inspection.

Hertfordshire has traditionally used the independent special school sector to a much lower extent than national and statistical neighbour averages, reflecting in part its comparative underfunding. Maintained special school places offer a more efficient use of resource than growing use of expensive independent places.

While the provision plan proposes that special schools focus on children with the most complex needs, for many special schools this will be a transition over several years. The expectation is that all those currently attending special schools will be able to continue at their current setting. As a result, additional short-term capacity is required to support this transition. Hertfordshire has focussed on expanding existing special schools, including through offsite ‘satellite’ expansions, to create capacity which could be more easily stood down in future as pupil profiles change. This approach ensures that specialist provision is available as locally as possible in the short term while supporting the transition to a more inclusive overall system.

• Updating special school designations. As mainstream inclusion strengthens, special schools will evolve to meet increasingly complex and co-occurring needs. This will include:
• Broader and more flexible designations
• Adaption of buildings and environments where required

All capital projects incorporate a geographical needs assessment to evaluate the extent to which they support the delivery of provision for children and young people as close to their home communities as possible. This assessment includes analysis of pupil characteristics, including primary need, age range, and home location. This approach ensures that capital investment is strategically aligned with identified local need and demand, supporting equitable access to provision and contributing to the reduction of unnecessary travel distances.

This capital strategy aligns with wider reform, including strengthened Ordinarily Available Provision, increased outreach from specialist settings, investment in workforce capacity and enhanced early intervention funding. Together these initiatives will embed a strong continuum of provision with a commitment to promoting inclusion and ensuring children and young people can access suitable provision close to their homes.

9. System partner and stakeholder engagement, and co-production.

Please outline how the local area partnership plans to engage system partners and stakeholders to develop and implement the plan –

include planned engagement with schools and early years settings, alternative providers, Fe and post-16 providers (including those

your young people attend that are not within your local area), Parents and Carers and children and young people with SEND, with

reference to the core minimum requirements. Consider changing roles and responsibilities in the context of the Schools White Paper

and how you work collaboratively to manage the transition. Please indicate where additional support is required to engage partners or

stakeholders - senior officials at the Department for Education will be available to contribute to summer term events with education

leaders and parent carer forum leaders.

Co-production is a core principle of Hertfordshire’s improvement journey and is central to both the development and delivery of our SEND Strategy and reform plan. This plan has been shaped through a strong and mature culture of partnership working, enabled by:

Established governance arrangements: Parent carers, through Hpci, alongside representatives from early years settings, schools, post-16 providers and Education Support Centres, are fully embedded in SEND Partnership Board and SEND Executive governance. This ensures co-production is not consultative but integral to decision-making.

Extensive engagement across 2025–2026 as part of our continuous improvement journey and SEND Strategy development. This engagement included hearing from over 1000 voices in the lead up to the Hertfordshire SEND Summit in September 2025 through community events and surveys, including children and young people through our Voices of Hertfordshire Model, schools, settings, staff and parent carers. This insight has directly shaped key priorities within this plan, including Ordinarily Available Provision and the SEND Provision Plan.

Co-production of the SEND Provision Plan: This has been informed by over 400 young people, 44 multi-agency workshops, surveys, community events and the SEND Summit, ensuring a wide range of experiences and perspectives have shaped system redesign. A public consultation on this, which closed 15th June 2026, has enabled further engagement to test that the plan meets expectations, receiving over 500 respondents to the survey and 46 attendees to events and focus groups.

Targeted reform co-production: Our SEND Reform Co-production Event (April 2026) brought together over 130 representatives across education, health and parent carer groups to co-design the Universal Offer Agreement and Experts at Hand model, forming the basis of the design principles within this plan.

This significant level of engagement and co-production is possible because we have strong links to our schools and settings, making use of consortia and local SENCO networks, a Parent Carer Forum who are embedded across SEND governance and an innovative model for reaching and engaging a large number of children and young people, Voices of Hertfordshire. Supported by a dedicated SEND Participation Lead, Voices of Hertfordshire includes multiple mechanisms for engaging with children and young people including eight Experts by Experience, a multi-schools council which engages with hundreds of children, SEND Youth Councils in every district/borough run by Services for Young People and Supported Interns.

Please note: supplementary document submitted titled Q9 Supplementary – Co-production & Engagement summary’ provides an overview of the co-production and engagement activity and findings to date that supported production of our SEND strategy, SEND Provision Plan and Reform Plan.

Delivery of reform will continue to be grounded in co-production through strong multi-agency governance, in which all sectors are already represented, and established links to wider partnership networks such as DSPLs and locality clusters of settings. An engagement and communications plan, to be developed in Q2, will support clarity, consistency and shared ownership across the system, ensuring that all sectors can contribute to design, delivery and continuous improvement. We have a SEND Engagement & Partnership Manager leading on engagement, ensuring we have dedicated capacity to co-produce across the next three years. Additional officer capacity has already been created to support this role ensuring engagement with settings, parent carer, young people and partners can be further increased.

For schools and settings, engagement will extend beyond formal governance through locality-based activity, design workshops and targeted engagement with schools, early years settings, post-16, alternative provision and SENCO forums to ensure that local reform implementation, particularly the Experts at Hand Model, are informed by the needs of all settings, and engagement will be continuous to allow the partnership to respond to feedback and reforms embed.

Hertfordshire has a strong track record of engaging children and young people through the Voices of Hertfordshire model. The model includes many channels for engaging with children and young people including Experts by Experience, SEND Youth Councils, a multi-schools council and Supported Interns, who are all actively shaping improvement work. The model has significant reach, meaning that hundreds of children are engaged. This approach will continue as reforms are delivered with dedicated sessions to enable child’s voice to inform the Experts at Hand Model and wider reform work.

Alongside this, we recognise the importance of building trust and confidence among families and young people. We will use our established co-production approaches to deepen and broaden engagement, ensuring families feel informed, heard and confident in the changes being implemented. Parent carer engagement will be enabled through our established partnership with Herts Parent Carer Involvement, who are embedded within SEND governance and regularly work with the partnership on improvement activities, and development of a new Parent Carer Insight & Learning Group, strengthening links to the voluntary and community sector.

The SEND reforms signal a shift in responsibility towards settings taking greater ownership of inclusion, supported by Local Authority and health partners. Hertfordshire will act as a strong system leader, supporting all settings - including those less engaged historically - to understand expectations, access support and deliver inclusive practice. This will be supported by a robust change management approach. The Inclusion Alliance and locality-based Experts at Hand model will provide the structures for collaboration, peer support and proactive outreach, ensuring settings are supported to co-produce solutions while maintaining clear expectations and accountability across the system.

10. Risks and Mitigations

What are the key risks that could affect the successful implementation of your Local SEND Reform Plan, and what mitigation strategies

are in place to manage these risks? Please include a maximum of 5 risks with impact and likelihood Rag for each risk. See Annex C for

suggested risk matrix.

and attainment.

Hubs, Health Neighbourhoods, Inclusion Hubs, DSPLs) so that we can then align these localities to provide a holistic ‘children’s workforce’ in each local community with a view to mapping onto outcome of Lgr decision.

Hertfordshire is delivering and responding to multiple major system reforms concurrently, including SEND reform, Families First Social Care Reforms, Best Start in Life, Integrated Care Board (Icb) reform, and Local Government Reorganisation (Lgr). Each reform is individually significant, but the combined timing and phasing creates increased pressure on partners, settings, services and staff across the system.

Through our communications strategy for the reforms, we will provide consistent, transparent communication to partners, families and staff about what is changing, what is not, and what is still subject to future decision-making, particularly around geography and governance.

Potential Impacts:

We have positioned Year 1 as a design, learning and stabilisation phase, allowing the system to test approaches, build confidence and maintain momentum without over-stretching capacity.

Regarding the education inspection framework, some settings may be unintentionally incentivised to prioritise traditional measures in order to secure positive inspection judgements, potentially at the expense of more inclusive practices. As a result, the intended shift towards a more inclusive system may not be fully realised, creating a risk that settings feel less able to adopt inclusive approaches that support the needs of all learners. This could directly impact the success of SEND reforms, meaning they take longer to implement and require more funding than available

Closely monitor the impacts of the new education inspection framework in Hertfordshire.

Continue to ensure that Hertfordshire contributes to national understanding of the progress and impact of SEND reforms through sector representatives and to central government.

There is a risk that attempting to respond to multiple reforms simultaneously leads to:

stretched leadership and workforce capacity

increased staff fatigue and burnout

ambiguity where roles, governance or geographic footprints are still evolving (particularly in relation to Lgr)

slowed decision-making or loss of momentum in transformation activity

unintended consequences between reforms or policy either locally or nationally

risks that if one part of reforms are not delivered, it negatively impacts the success of other reforms In particular, Icb Reforms have led to a significant reduction in capacity whilst at the same time ICBs are covering larger footprints. Hertfordshire is now under Central East Icb, which includes six other Local Areas. There is a risk that reduced capacity will impact Icb

ability to coordinate and drive SEND Reforms with the pace that is required.

Uncertainty around key structural elements, such as future Lgr footprints, also presents challenges for finalising locality-based design decisions and planning longer-term implementation at pace.

If not managed carefully, reform activity could feel fragmented, place unsustainable pressure on the workforce, and reduce confidence in the system’s ability to deliver change effectively.

Opportunity: At the same time, the alignment of multiple reforms presents a significant opportunity to re-think and re-design the system holistically, rather than layering change on existing structures. By taking a coordinated, system-wide approach, Hertfordshire can align SEND, social care and health reform around shared principles of inclusion, prevention and place-based delivery, creating more coherent and sustainable change.

Possible Critical Amber/Red

We already have recruitment & Retention strategies for Educational Psychologists and Therapists in place with success in recent years, but this will still not be enough to meet expectations of reform without thinking creatively about other roles.

Risk 2: Inability to recruit sufficient specialist staff and absence of a national workforce strategy

Amber

Description:

There is an absence of a national workforce strategy jointly developed across the DfE and NHS England and known national shortages of key staff (e.g. EPs, SaLTs, OTs, specialist teaching staff) remain, at least in the short term whilst reform proposals take time to have impact on the national workforce pipeline.

We plan to design workforce around functions and outcomes, not narrow professional roles.

We will think creatively about the roles that can effectively support the Experts at Hand model including assistant and alternatively qualified practitioners and other wrap-round services.

To mitigate this, we intend to recruit alternatively qualified and support roles for Experts at Hand, alongside these specialists.

We will sequence recruitment so that delivery of the model is not wholly dependent on hard-to-fill roles.

We will closely monitor the workforce picture across the Hertfordshire SEND system, to enable us to quickly respond if we find Experts at Hand recruitment is creating vacancies in other areas.

Potential Impact:

This national shortage could lead to an inability to recruit sufficient new and additional specialist staff into our local SEND workforce for the Hertfordshire Experts

• We will assess DfE Experts at Hand policy guidance and

Risk 5: Timing of SEND Provision Plan consultation impacts alignment with Reform Plan development and submission

Unlikely Moderate Green/Amber This risk will be managed through clear communication with stakeholders about consultation timelines, a commitment to reflect SEND Provision consultation outcomes in reform plan implementation and subsequent plan refinement, and formal governance oversight from the SEND Partnership Board and SEND Executive to ensure alignment between the final Provision Plan and reform delivery.

Green Description: Hertfordshire’s SEND Provision Plan, co-produced prior to publication of the SEND White Paper and aligned to reform principles, went out to public consultation, which closed 15th June, shortly before submission of the SEND Reform Plan to the DfE. This means consultation feedback cannot be fully analysed or responded to prior to submission, creating a risk that the Reform Plan does not fully reflect final consultation outcomes.

The Provision Plan already aligns well to SEND reform principles and was thoroughly co-produced with parent carer reps and settings, meaning whilst this risk is possible it is unlikely that significant changes will be needed, but this is subject to a full and meaningful analysis of the consultation responses.

Potential impact: If consultation feedback results in material changes to the SEND Provision Plan, there is a risk of misalignment between the submitted Reform Plan and the final, agreed Provision Plan. There is also a risk that consultees, primarily young people, settings and parent carers, perceive consultation feedback has not meaningfully influenced system planning, undermining trust.

11. Dependencies

Please detail the key areas of the local area partnership’s proposed SEND future state and roadmap that may be impacted by wider

reforms nationally and locally and outline how you will manage these. We expect these will include but not be limited to:

• NHS reforms

• Local Government Re-organisation

• Reforms to Children’s Social Care

• Best Start in Life, including Family Hubs

• Best Start In Life Strategy

• Curriculum and Assessment Review

Integrated Care Board (NHS) reforms are a critical dependency for the Hertfordshire SEND system. The Experts at Hand model relies on joint commissioning and shared accountability across local authority and Icb. This dependency is being managed through our strong SEND Partnership and governance arrangements, aligned commissioning intentions (e.g. we have a jointly commissioned Therapy Service contract) and a formal Local Authority–Icb Memorandum of Understanding for Experts at Hand will be drafted. The Experts at Hand model is intentionally designed to be function‑led rather than organisation‑specific, enabling us to test, learn and iterate as Icb structures develop and evolve.

Local Government Re‑organisation (Lgr) introduces uncertainty around governance, statutory responsibilities and geographic footprints, with implications for locality‑based delivery of Experts at Hand. Until Hertfordshire’s Lgr outcome is known, there is uncertainty on which locality footprint will be best for deploying Experts at Hand and remain future proof. This is mitigated by designing SEND delivery around place‑based principles rather than fixed boundaries, and aligning localities with Best Start Family Hubs, health neighbourhoods and Delivering Specialist Provision Locality (Dspl) arrangements. Transitional governance will maintain continuity of oversight, with key decisions reviewed at agreed points to ensure the model remains resilient as Lgr outcomes become clearer. A rapid options appraisal will take place in Year 1 once the Lgr outcome is known, to enable a decision on the most suitable footprint.

Children’s Social Care reforms (Families First) align with SEND priorities around early help, whole‑family support and improved transitions. However, concurrent implementation increases pressure on leadership and workforce capacity. This is being managed through aligned programme oversight, shared locality design and joint planning across SEND, social care and health teams.

Best Start in Life reforms, including Family Hubs and the Best Start in Life Strategy, are foundational to Hertfordshire’s SEND system. Early identification, school readiness and inclusive early years provision are key levers for reducing escalation and meeting children’s need early. SEND reform activity is therefore integrated with Best Start delivery, including co‑produced Early Years SEND offers delivered via Family Hubs and shared workforce roles such as Best Start Inclusion Practitioners.

The national Curriculum and Assessment Review is a key dependency for SEND reform, setting the national direction for inclusive curriculum design and assessment. Its emphasis on a more flexible, coherent curriculum, alongside assessment approaches that recognise progress over time, supports core SEND priorities around equity, early identification and improved outcomes. The implementation of these reforms will be critical in ensuring that national expectations and accountability frameworks enable, rather than constrain, the inclusion and achievement of children and young people with SEND. The partnership will therefore continue to monitor developments closely and align local implementation, particularly through the Universal Offer and Experts at Hand model, to ensure Hertfordshire is well positioned to respond to national changes.

In addition to national reforms, the partnership has identified Hertfordshire‑specific dependencies critical to delivery. First, sustained engagement and ownership from schools, early years and post‑16 settings is essential. The roadmap assumes increasing ownership of inclusive practice, supported by a strong universal and targeted offer. This is being managed through the Inclusion Alliance, the Universal Offer Agreement and locality‑based support via Experts at Hand, combining co‑production, peer learning and accountability.

Second, workforce capacity and national SEND workforce reforms remain a key dependency. The pace and scale of Experts at Hand delivery is influenced by the national workforce pipeline for Educational Psychologists, Therapists and specialist practitioners. Locally, this risk is mitigated through creative workforce design, use of assistant roles, and phased implementation. If workforce growth lags, the roadmap allows prioritisation of high‑impact functions and whole‑setting support to maintain momentum.

Finally, delivery of reform locally is dependent on the implementation and impact of the Hertfordshire SEND Provision Plan. Planned capital and revenue investment underpins increased local capacity, reduced reliance on independent provision and stronger outreach. Progress against the Provision Plan will be monitored through SEND governance and used to inform phasing, workforce deployment and commissioning decisions, ensuring continued alignment between sufficiency planning and inclusion reform.. The plan recently went out to public consultation, which closed 15th June, and progress will be monitored through SEND partnership governance.

Section 3 – Monitoring and Evaluation

12. How will the local area partnership know delivery is on track?

Please set out how you will monitor and track progress referencing:

▪ Monitoring tools and processes - the specific tools, systems, and data you will use to track delivery milestones and measure

the impact on outcomes.

Some Local Area Partnerships hold data in a central SEND operational dashboard. This is used by teams on a weekly basis to

identify trends in demand or inform conversations with local school or setting leaders.

In some Local Area Partnerships, a view of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is reviewed monthly by a SEND Board to

take decisions on prioritisation, resourcing and delivery of services informed by regular data.

Please set out how you will use data to track demand (e.g., EHCP applications for assessment), Service delivery (e.g., Speech

and Language Specialists deployment; places created), Service quality (e.g., parental satisfaction) and outputs (e.g., pupil

attendance; pupil exclusions)

▪ Feedback and adaptation mechanisms - what feedback loops and stakeholder input you will use to review progress and adjust

your approach.

Hertfordshire will ensure delivery of the SEND Reform Plan remains on track through robust data and insight, underpinned by existing strong governance and continuous feedback loop between children, families and partners. Hertfordshire benefits from a well-established SEND Data Dashboard and wider Insight and Intelligence Framework, which provide a single, shared view of system performance. The dashboard brings together performance and impact data across education, health and social care, enabling strong monthly reporting, and escalation where required, to SEND Partnership Board, SEND Quality Assurance Board and SEND Executive.

The dashboard is used to track trends and identify emerging pressures, for example increases in EHCP requests, waiting times, or requests for specialist provision. At partnership level, a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), linked to our SEND Strategy are reviewed monthly at the SEND Partnership Board and SEND Executive. including key pupil engagement metrics such at attendance, reduced timetables and exclusions. Quality markers, such as audit findings, and experience of services, through quarterly surveying of parent carers, are also included in the dashboard and monitored regularly. This enables timely decision-making on prioritisation, resource allocation and delivery adjustments. The partnership takes a flexible approach, meaning KPIs can be adapted and the dashboard evolved to ensure focus on metrics most pertinent to reform.

Progress and impact of our SEND Strategy and improvement plan are closely monitored at the operational level through our established SEND workstreams, which feed into SEND Partnership Board monthly via highlight reporting and deep-dive presentations. We intend to evolve these workstreams to ensure they allow for full reporting on SEND Reform progress. Alongside quantitative data, Hertfordshire places strong emphasis on qualitative feedback and two-way engagement as a core part of monitoring. Feedback loops are embedded through:

Voices of Hertfordshire, our model for engaging children and young people that is supported by a dedicated SEND Participation Lead. The model includes Experts by Experience, SEND Youth Councils, a multi-schools council and Supported Interns, ensuring children and young people’s experiences directly shape delivery and improvement.

Parent carer engagement, which is led through our established partnership with Herts Parent Carer Involvement who are embedded within SEND governance and involved in improvement work. Our engagement also includes direct surveying of families to understand lived experiences of services. Through the reform plan we intend to strengthen our feedback loops with parent carers further by establishing a parent carer engagement framework, strengthening links with the voluntary and community sector, and hiring additional staff within the Local Authority and Hpci to expand our reach into local communities.

Engagement with the workforce and settings, supported by a dedicated SEND Engagement and Partnership Manager, alongside an additional officer post to increase capacity for continuous engagement with schools, Early Years providers and post-16 settings through local consortia, workshops, SENCO forums and surveys. These mechanisms enable regular insight into how reforms are being experienced in practice, including access to support, confidence in inclusion and perceived impact. As referenced in response to question 9, a dedicated engagement & co-production plan will be developed to enable continuous co-production of reform proposals, particularly the Experts at Hand Model, as they are mobilised. Year 1 of the reform plan is positioned as a design and test phase. This means feedback will be systematically gathered, for example through digital surveys and focus groups, and triangulated with performance data to inform continuous improvement and adjust approaches were required. Where issues are identified - such as continued gaps in access, variation between localities or unintended consequences - this will trigger responsive action through governance, including adaptation of delivery models, workforce deployment or guidance. Together, this integrated approach ensures Hertfordshire not only tracks progress rigorously but continuously learns and adapts, maintaining pace while keeping the needs and experiences of children, young people and families at the centre of reform delivery.

13. Reporting to DfE

Using the attached data template, the local area partnership is required to provide quarterly data returns to DfE against selected key

metrics. DfE will, in turn, provide quarterly data reports with visualised analysis and benchmarking that will support your local

delivery, monitoring and evaluation. This will include data the department holds on Attendance, Exclusions, and Unauthorised

absence.

Please use the attached data template to upload your initial data return to DfE.

Please note: our data and finance template has been submitted as supplementary titled ‘Q13 Supplementary – The Local

SEND Reform Plan Data Template’

Section 4 – Governance

14. How will the local area partnership ensure delivery of plans remain on track?

Please outline the governance structures in place to oversee delivery. Clearly set out who is responsible for overseeing reform

delivery, what each governance group or individual is accountable for, and how these arrangements ensure progress is monitored

and decisions are made transparently. Please identify where the named Sro for the Local SEND Reform Plan sits within the

governance structure and ensure your response incorporates the core minimum requirements.

Governance

Purpose/ Responsibilities

Membership

Cadence

Decision Rights

Escalation

What is the function of this governance Who does this governance How regularly What decisions can this

Mechanism

Route

mechanism? What are they mechanism comprise of?

does this governance mechanism make?

This may be a Where can this accountable for overseeing? What [should include health and Pcf governance governance group, governance information is reported to this representation] What mechanism or an individual mechanism escalate governance mechanism?

stakeholders are represented at meet?

(e.g. Sro).

issues or decision this governance mechanism?

to?

Please indicate who chairs this.

(Include n/a if an individual).

SEND Improvement Operational oversight of SEND projects Each workstream has a Chair to Every 6 – 8 Decisions that impact operational SEND Partnership Workstreams and programmes. They each follow a ensure tight grip and have a link weeks delivery e.g. changing of systems, Board (multiple and to be workstream action plan and have sub- Improvement Manager to support practice guidance sign off.

evolved to groups reporting in. Workstreams are projects/programmes and incorporate additional grouped by themes of to allow for in-depth workstream reporting. Workstreams Workstream also decides when to reform work discussion on progress and impact, cross are multi-agency including escalate risks to SEND Partnership programmes and sector sharing of experiences and generate representation across, education, Board, with support of their align to our new new solutions. Risks are first reported here health and social care with at least improvement manager to follow risk SEND Strategy) and workstreams can decide to escalate if one parent carer representative escalation criteria.

required, following risk criteria.

sitting on each.

SEND Quality To operationalise Hertfordshire’s SEND Chaired by Director of Specialist Monthly Sign-off of quality reports, audit SEND Partnership Assurance Board quality assurance framework. Services Services and Commissioning (social schedules, and decisions that relate to Board across education, health and social care care rep) how quality assurance work is present quality updates on services (both undertaken, or how to prioritise quality universal and targeted), aligned to 10 Representation across Local assurance activity principles of quality. The board support and Authority Education and social care challenge, enabling understanding of services, Icb, NHS providers, Herts quality and its impact on experiences.

Parent Carer Involvement and school representatives

Schools Forum The Hertfordshire Schools Forum is a

Representatives from primary, Half-termly The Forum holds a number of - consultative body made up of secondary, special schools, early decision-making powers relating to representatives from Hertfordshire schools years, Education Support Centre, specific aspects of school funding and academies.

School Governor, Further Education arrangements which have been and Local Authority Representation delegated to Forums by the Secretary The main functions of the schools forum of State.

are:

• to be consulted on the funding

formula

• to be consulted on issues in

connection with the schools budget

• to be consulted on service

contracts where the costs will be met from the schools budget

• to determine a range of financial

and budget matters affecting schools.

In relation to SEND, decisions would be made on Dedicated Schools Grant and High Needs Funding that impact on meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND. There is a High Needs Funding Sub-group that enables closer scrutiny of High Needs Funding spend and mitigations.

If you have a diagram to show the relationship between these governance mechanisms, please upload this here. Please note it has

been submitted as separate supplementary document titled Q14 Supplementary – Herts SEND Governance Diagram’

Section 5 – Central Government Support

15. How can we help you?

Please outline any practical support you need from central government to implement your plan effectively.

This may include:

▪ Access to specialist expertise or advisory support

▪ Help with workforce development or recruitment challenges

▪ Tools or templates to support data collection, reporting, or evaluation

▪ Facilitation of peer learning or regional collaboration

▪ Support with system-level coordination across education, health, and care

▪ Guidance on navigating regulatory or policy barriers

250 words It is imperative that Central Government provide ongoing support to Local Area Partnerships to ensure SEND reforms are successful. For Hertfordshire this includes:

• The DfE expediting the process for development of inclusion bases and expansion of provision

The DfE providing a detailed breakdown of trajectories for the increased number of EPs, SaLT and OTs they expect to see in England based on their nationally owned workforce initiatives across each of the next three years. This level of detailed is required to build accurate and realistic local trajectories on workforce.

The DfE leading a national recruitment and retention strategy for specialist staff and teaching staff including Teaching Assistants, SENCOs, Teachers and Headteachers. This should go beyond on-the-job and retro-fitting training, but a drive to recruit more into the profession and working with universities and training providers to adapt courses to ensure that all students receive training to meet the needs of children with SEND.

The DfE providing clarify on when the National Inclusion Standards will become available. If Hertfordshire are to develop a Universal Offer Agreement in 2026/27 that is reflective of these, they need to be readily available.

Annex B - Supporting Documents

Annex C – Risk Matrix